Buchanan 10 on the way

  1. Tom Wright
    Tom Wright
    Tom Buchanan has finished my 10-string, and I will see it sometime in the next couple of weeks.

    It has an ebony fingerboard and bridge, with Indian rosewood back and sides. Tom uses a pin bridge, so I won't have to strain to find strings for it since I can use ball end, like on my electric. My goal is a tone, and a role, more like a Martin guitar. Obviously not the bottom end, but I hope for the softer attack and warm sustain of the rosewood Martins like 000-28.

    The scale is normal mandolin, perhaps slightly long at 360mm---he uses 350mm for his standard celtic mandolin. The body is something like twice the volume of his mandolin, probably about the same as a Ribiero 10-string bandolim.
  2. Eddie Sheehy
    360 mm is better to keep the C string from being floppy. I imagine you using the ball-end equivalents of J62's with J80 bass strings - .010, .014, .024, .034, .046? Or GHS A240 Ultra-light - .009, .013, .020, .032, with PF285 bass strings .044?
  3. Tom Wright
    Tom Wright
    I go heavier on the bottom for my 5-string, scale length nearly the same at 357mm---.010 .014 .024 .040 .056. I'll try what Tom sends it with, but I like knowing I can also use the Ernie Ball stainless steel I like, or any of various bronze, nickel, round or flat wound. I will have a spare Ryder 5-pole pickup I can mount in the sound hole, so I have lots of fun stuff to try, including some Dudu Maia tunes for 10-string from his web site.
  4. Chip Booth
    Chip Booth
    Tom, I look forward to seeing some pics and hearing clips!
  5. Tom Wright
    Tom Wright
    Came yesterday. Before quitting at 1am to prevent blisters I had no problem playing pretty much anything I wanted. The sound is exactly as I hoped it would be, very guitar-like. Soft attack and long sustain in all registers. Very big sound, like a Martin 000-28 in color. For now I am using Tom's strings, bronze with pretty light gauge, only .047 on the C, and .009 on top, as
    I measure them.

    European spruce top, Indian rosewood back/sides, mahogany neck, ebony fingerboard and bridge.
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